It's bright and early when I wake up to the sound of my alarm on Christmas morning. I don't hesitate to get out of bed, too excited to run over to Louise's house and pick up my gift for Dan, which she'd let me keep there overnight.
I open the guest room door just a bit to make sure he's still asleep. Of course he is; it's 9 A.M. I get dressed, putting on my shoes and coat before heading out the door and making the short walk over to Louise's house. She answers the door just seconds after I ring the bell.
"Phil! Merry Christmas!" she exclaims, greeting me with a warm smile and a giant hug.
"Merry Christmas, Louise!" I reply cheerfully. "You know what I'm here for."
"Of course; I'll be right back. Derek is going to love you for this."
She leaves for a moment, then comes back holding a little box full of blankets with little holes poked into each side.
"This is for Derek," she says, handing me the box, then hands me a little gift bag she'd also been carrying, "and this is for you."
"Oh, thank you so much, Louise," I reply, taking a little box out of my coat. "I got you something too, of course."
She thanks me, and I head back on over to my house carrying the box and the bag and setting them gently underneath the tree. Then I run upstairs to the guest room to wake up Dan.
"Ho ho ho!" I exclaim, letting myself into the room and obnoxiously pulling the blankets off of Dan, who is, or was, sleeping soundly beneath them. "It's Christmas, Danny boy! Wake up, you sleepyhead."
Dan just groans in response, turning over to face away from me and pulling the blankets back up to cover himself.
"Dan, it's time to do Christmas things. Don't be a Scrooge. I got you a present and you have to come see what it is right now before it poops everywhere!"
"What?" Dan questions groggily, turning his head slightly to peer up at me.
"Come on!" I urge, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of bed.
I hurry back down the stairs like a child who just realized that Santa had come. Only in this case, I'm more like Santa, and Dan is the child who should be a hundred times more excited than he is.
I'm already sitting on the floor beside the lit-up Christmas tree when Dan finally walks into the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning widely.
"Did I just hear you say you got me poop for Christmas, or was I that out of it?" he inquires.
"You were that out of it. Come on."
He walks over and sits on the floor across from me, eyeing the huge box that I'm hugging to my chest.
"You ready?" I ask, hardly able to contain my excitement.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
I set the box down gently in front of him. He pulls back the lid and peers inside. The moment his eyes lock upon what's inside that box, his eyes widen, and his mouth falls open. He reaches inside with both hands and picks up the tiny black animal inside.
"You know how my parents' cat had kittens? Well, I brought one home yesterday. For you. To keep you company while I'm away at work, and when Nuki's at Louise's house. Isn't he cute?"
"Phil... I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. I know it's weird, that I've known you for hardly a month, and we don't even know how long you'll be here, and I got you a cat of all things, but it's a lot less of a commitment than getting a dog, and cats make great company, you know?"
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Broken Windows // Phan AU
FanfictionPhil is awakened at 2 A.M. by a mysterious crash coming from his kitchen. His first thought? An intruder has come to murder him in his sleep. When he creeps downstairs to investigate, however, the man he encounters does not seem to be the malicious...
